Creosoting plant



A. M. LOCKETT ET AL CREOSOTING PLANT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Zlwuzwtozd, dud/117 W Filed Feb. 27 1924 A. M. LOCKETT ET AL .Ban. 6, 1925.

CREOSOTING PLANT Filed Feb. 27

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A. M. LOCKETT ET AL CREOSOTING PLANT Filed Feb. 27,'1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I 31101; 7W ga 1,56,

Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

UNITED amass. PATENT orrlca.

ANDREW m. nooxn'rr A'Nn BERNARD s. NELSON, on NEW ORLEANS, LoUIsILNA,As-

* srenons To A. M. LOCKETT aoo. mm, or

T-ION OF LOUISIANA.

' cnnosonne PLANT.

Application filed February 27, 1924. Serial No. 695,515.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ANDRE -M. LOCK- E'I'T and B RNARD S Ngsomcitizensof the United States, residing at New Orleans, in

the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Creosotmg Plants, of

which the following is a specification.

In the art of creosoting or other porous 1 material impregnatingprocesses, the material such as timber or other wooden material isdeposited into a chamber 'or retort which is thensealed to make itair-tight.

. 'Live steam is then admitted into said red tort charged as; aboveindicated until the steam pressure within the retort s capable ofpermeating all the interstices within and thoroughly heating all thematerlal to be treated in the sealed retort depending on thelmaterialtreated from 250 to 275, E, and after so treated the steam is allowed toquickly escape, and the nearest approach to a vacuum in the retort isproduced in as short a time as possible. By the action of the steamescapin out" of the retort y its own pressure, the temperature of thewood or other material v with qts moisture and non-condensable gasescontained in'its cellular structure or eofinterstiees has a temperaturea proximately between 250 and 275? F., the oiling point of water atatmospheric pressure being 212 1?. its boiling oint at inches of vacuumis only and a out 30 F., and hence the the retort the lower the boilingpoint of. the moisturecontained within the retort. The moisture .andcreated non-condensable gases' being'extracted from the porous materialwithin the retort, said retort is fille ith oil, .such as coalv tarcreosote or ch pressure until the material within the 'retort has beenthoroughly im regnated with said oil, when the excess 0 oil not absorbedmay be withdrawn, as is usual in this class of processes. ,The inventionrelates to. creosotlng or' pregnating orthoroughly saturating porousmaterial with a suitable fluid and particu-r larly to the condensingsystem employed. Que object of the invention is to provide from andbeing blown nearer an absolute vacuum is created in.

esirable impregnating material 'un- Still another object of theinvention is to simplify the operation of the equipment by the reductionof the number and size of ele ments necessary. I A

I Another object of invention is to provide a unitary condensingv mentof reduced size, capable of handling a widely varying amount of steamand an unusually large amount of .air' and gases and incapable of beinginjured by water.

Other objects and advantages of the-invention will be fully'an'd.clearly understood and becomev apparent-from the detailed description tobe ereinafter more'fully given.

. The invention consists infthe structural- ImwoRLEANs, LOUISIANA, AconroRA and separating elecharacteristics, relative arrangement andcombinations of elements hereinafter more fully disclosed andparticularly pointed out in the appended'claims.

In-the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference charactersindicate the same parts in the several .fig'ures Figure ,1 isa view infront elevation of an impregnated, system-embodying our improvements. I'Fi re 2 is a view part1 in section showing t e attachment of a ydraulicvacuum pump to the condenser for producing'the vacuum within thecondenser.

steam ejector indicated in Figure 4.

Figure .4is an elevation partly in section of the ejector and condenserejector being shown in dotted condenser partly broken away.

coupling, the

Fi re' 3 is a vertical section on line III .II of Figure 4 of the twostage air or lines and the Figure 5 is a vertical section of a two"stage steam or air ejector with surface intercooler, showing theconnection with the p condenser are shown in Figi'ires 3, and 6,

air outlet'of the condenser.

' Figu native form ofthe difierential indicator Figure 6 is a verticalsection of a single stage ejector as connected with the air outlet ofthe condenser. f

Figure 7 is a verticalsection of the combined barometric condenser,separator and cooler. a t

Figure S is a horizontal section through the separator on the lineVIII-VIII of Figure 7 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 9 is a front elevation of thedifferential indicating device forindicating or readingthe stage of completion of the evacuatingoperation.

re 10 is a front elevation of an altershown in Figure 9.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows for example an impregnating orcreosoting retort 1 containing the porous or fibrous material 2, such aswood, which is to beimpregnated with a desired fluid or preservingmaterial, such as coal tar creosote.

From retort 1, an exhaust pipe controlled by valve 15' leads to theatmosphere.- A second pipe 3 controlled by valve 3' leads to abarometric condenser and separator 4,

said condenser and separator having a tail ipe 5 of at leastthirty-three feet in length ,eading from the lower conical extremity ofthe condenser 4 to a hot well 6 which receives the condensate from thecondenser and acts as a seal therefor agalnst adm ssion of air to thecondenser.. A11 overflow pipe 7 leads from the hot well 6 as shown.

A- cold waterpump 8 of any usual type pumps water into the upper endofthe condenser and separator through a pipe 9 which preferably at onepomt 9 lies in proximlty to the tail pipe 5 for the attachment of adifierential temperature indicat-- ing device 16 which will presently bedescribed. v

- An ejecting device 14 is connected with the upper end of the condenserto withdraw and eject the air and non-condensable gases coming over tothe condenser 4 from the material in the retort 1 and from leakage.

Said ejectin device 14 is connected with the hot well 6 y means of apipe 13 sealed against the air at'its extremity by the water in aid hotwell, as shown and clearly understo The particular ejecting device 14,shown I in Figure 1, is a well known'form of hy- "draulic vacuum pumptaking water through inlet 12 and by means of a revolving et wheel 11,shown-in Figure 2, hurling prisms of water down the contracted throat ofpipe 13, thus drawing and entraining the air and gases from thecondenser 4, pipe 3 and retort 1, and carrying said air and gases to theatmosphere through the hot Well 6.

menses Other forms of ejector suitable to our ejector is used for thereason that the same cannot be injured by water and is'cheaper in firstcost as well as reducing the amount of ipe work in its installation.

he two-stage ejector shown in Figures 3 and 4 is connected to the outlet26 of condenser 4 by means of a coupling 43. Pressure or motive fluid,-such as steam, is admitted through pipe 54 to nozzle 48 of the firststage ejector 46. This pressure fluid is directed through the throat 49into a diffuser 50 of a Venturi tube, entraining and drawing air andgases from condenser 4 through outlet 26. The pressure produced indifl'user 50 forces the air into the noz-' zle' chamber of the secondstage ejector 47 arranged at right angles to 46, where a second jet ofsteam from nozzle 51 supplied by branch pipe 51 throws the air or gasesfrom the diffuser 50 throughthroat 52 into the diffuser 53 and thenceinto anysuitable discharge, not shown, to the atmosphere.

In Figure 5, the two ejectors 56;, 57 have interposed between them asurface condenser or cooler 58, the first stage ejector 56 being coupledwith the barometric condenser lUl) ling inlet 45, the nozzle 66receiving its pressure fluid from pipe 65 and ejecting through difi'user67 to the final discharge and atmosphere as will be readily understood.

Our combined barometric condenser, separator and cooler 4, Figure 7,comprises a unitary cylindrical structure built up preferably of threesections, namely, a .condenser cone 23, a separator and cooler section41 and a water inlet and air outlet section 42, all rigidly connectedtogether to form an air-tight unit. I

The condenser cone section 23 has its lower portion formed as aninverted cone converging to an outlet 31 leading into the tail pipe 5,see Figure 1.

Air and gas inlet 25 is provided in the nuances upper side wall 23 ofcone section 23 for connection with the exhaust or outlet pipe 3, of theretort 1. A condensing tube 21 is rigidly mounted in spaced relation tothe inner side of wall 23 opposite theinlet 25. 1

f the section 23. Near its lower end the tube 21 is rigidlyconnected towall 23' by means of screw-bolts 40 and clamping nuts- 40f inwell knownmanner.

fitted loosely through flange 39 leaving a.

The tube 21 is space 39, between its vouter wall and the end of flange39-and7iommunicating with the grooves 38 so as toafford a passage to tocollect on the hood andfsecti'on 'wall 41 and drain down throughpassages36, .38, 39' and outlet 31'to the tail pipe 5,'an'd the arated in thesection 41.-

The intermediate section. 41 of the condenser contains the drum 22having its the tail pipe of the water condensed or sep-' lower endformed as a divergent flange as at 32 being rigidly attached to theInner wall of section 41 by means of straps 35,

the end of the diverging portion 32 being spaced slightly as at '36 from,the wall of section 41 to allow the drainage of liquid that maybecondensed in this section down through grooves 38 and 39 to thejvtailpipe 5, through the outlet 31. l

The upper part of drum mg ouvreplates 34 struck .out of drum 22 at asuitable angle to the surface of. the drum and acting as a separator forthe stream of liquid carrying air movmg'lup' through drum: 22 by-;-'-. t'hrowing said stream against a hood 28 surrounding said louvre platesand against the'inner surface vorwall of section 41. The centrifugalforce of? the stream'will cause the particlesof water ,dry air and gasesescaping from under the hood and being drawn upwardly through outlet 26by the ejector 14, see Figure. 1. It-will be seen that the 11006. 28 anddrum 22 thus insure only air or gases from whichthe moisture has beenthoroughly separatedto be drawn up into outlet 26. This arrangementforms a unitary, and at the-sametime,

a compact and eflicient structure occupying but a small space ascompared with similar apparatus heretofore employedfor the same purpose.I

The top section 42 of condenser 4 forms, as shown, a closed cap piecefor the con: densor and is formed or provided with a cold water inlet 10leading toa water chamber 29, 30, the'lower portion 30 of this chamberbeing in the form of a truncated cone. whose base registers with the topof drum 22 andis tightly clamped thereto by 22 is formed with: pbli uelyextending slots 33 and correspondmeans of bolts 24- or other suitablemeans. .A spray plate 24 provided with. suitable perforations 27 isclamped between thecone 30 and drum 22.

The cap section 42 is also provided with a suitable air for gas inlet26, as shown, the

cone 30 being surrounded by an air chamber 42' leading from-air chamber41" in section mounting surface 16,- the upper ends of the I thermometertubes being ali'ned. with each other or if scales be provided onthetubes .then. the zero points beingalined with each other. .The liquidlevel of one thermometer will be alined with that'of-the other whenbothfthermometers indicate the sametemperature, or in other words, anequality of temperature in pipes 9 and 5 will be .indit cated at aglance when the liquid meniscus in one thermometer is alined'with orabreast of that in the other.

'- Figure 10 shows an alternative form ofindicator'16 in which theliquid columns 17 and 18 have been substituted by two rotary :indicatinghands 17' and 18' [pivoted and each operated independently of the otherby its particular thermometer element .19 or 20 connected to pipes 9 and5 respectively. When the hands 17 and 18' concentrically becomesuperposed, the thermometers QQ'M and 20 will, be indicating the sametemperature, that is,

the temperature of the water-- impipe 9 entering the condenser will havethe same temperature asv the-condensate in pipe 5 leaving the condensershowing thus at a glance thatno more 'steam or va or 1s being condensedby the cold water 0- pipe 9 flowing through the condenser 4, and theseconditions are reached there is no necessity for continuing theoperation for the reason that no additional benefit is secured bymaintaining the vacuum.

If desired, a temperature indicating scale may be provided on thethermometers in Figures 9 and 10, but suchscale is not essential 'forthe proper functioning of the indicators.

when I The various parts-being constructed and arranged as shown inFigure 1, with the lar fluid,'the retort door is tightly sealed and vvalves 3' and 15 are closed.

Live steam is then admitted under. about thirty pounds pressure intosaid retort lin the usual manner, which pressure lsmamheating of taineda specified time to insure a thorough the interior of the wood or othermaterial. The live steam is then shut off and valve 15 opened to relievethe steam in the retort to the atmosphere through vent 15. Without delayvalve 15 is then closed and valve 3' opened to, connect the retort withcondenser 4 into which the pump 8 is throwing cold condensing water, theejector at 14' having been put into operation to create a vacuum incondenser 4 and through pipe 3 'in the retort 1. The vacuum thuscreatedin retort 1. by opening of valve 3 causes the heated moisture and otherliquids other porous material to quickly evaporate filling the retortwith steam and vapors from the wood or other material within it. Thevacuum created sucks these vapors into the condenser along with acertain quantity of air which constantly leaks into the retort and otherelements of the system.

In order to completely remove this moisture and other liquids from thewood or other' material to be treated, it is essentialthat a quick andhigh vacuum be created and maintained so as to prevent cooling of thewood and also bring the boiling point of the wood contained liquids downto as low a point as possible.

Besides the 'condensable vapors from the! retort a large quantity of airfrom leakage into the system and non-condensable gases are thrown intothe condenser.

This is especially the situation when the vacuum is first created in thecondenser and retort, at which moment a very large. amount of steam isdrawnto the condenser as also a very large amount of air and gases.

As the moisture in the wood evaporates and the timber or other materialgradually cools oil, the quantity of steam and vapor becomes lessandless and after a comparatively short time no more steam or vapors arecondensed in the condenser, but the quantity of air enteringis'approximatel constant, so that a fairly large'quantity 0 air must behandled throughout the cycle;

To meet these conditions, the ordinary form of steam condenser wasfoundto be impractical as. being incapable of handling the large volumeof air and gases as compared with the volume of steam. Further-v more, astandard steam condenser capable of handling the great volume of steamcoming over at the beginnin of the cycle as compared with the quantityto be handled after a. short interval of time, would be prohibitive insize and hence in cost. I

'In our condenser we have succeeded in (V overcoming. these dificultiesand objections by constructing a com aratively small condenser capableor ban ing a widely varying amount of steam and an. unusually largeamount of airand gases.

openings or slots 33 contained in the interstices in the-wood or upperpartof this not be injured by water should the same be point with a rainof cold condensing water 7 from spray plate 24. The steam is herecondensed and flows down the cone 23 into the tail pipe 5 which opensinto the water seal in hot well 6. The heated air and non-condensablegases continue to rise and enter the cooling drum 22 where the air andgases are further cooled by the rain of water from spray plate 24.. Onreaching the louvre of the separator in the and gases which have takenup some particles of moisture in their prolonged passage through theWater spray are thrown out tangentially and witha centrifugal motionstriking the hood 28 and inner wall of section 41, the particles ofmoisture carried by the stream of air andgases being caught on the hood28 and wall mentioned and draindrum 22, the cooled air ing down into thetail pipe 5, as heretofore described. V

c The dry air and non-condensable' gases are then sucked up from underthe hood 28 and continuously drawn through outlet 26 by the action ofthe ejector 14, as will be readily understood and needs no furtherexplanation. Said ejector may be of any one of. the forms shown indetail in Figures 2, 3, a, 5 and 6 and'herein described, and is of sucha form and construction that the ejector candrawn over accidentally andalso is cheaper in its first cost and as well as minimizing the expenseof pipe used for its installation.

From the foregoing. disclosure of the con- 11 struction of the deviceand the arrange- 'ment of the different elements comprising thecreosoting system and the condenser, it will be apparent tha'tall theobjects, functions and advantages of the system and condenser setforthin the statement of invention have been fully and efiicientlycarried out. particularly described the apparatus used in connectionwith the full cell process as applied to unseasoned timber in which thesteaming'is done merely to dry or season the wood, and the condenser isused principally for condensing the evaporated moisture from the woodand the air and 1 other uncondensable gases taken care of by saidprocess has for its object to simply impregnate the cellular tissue ofthe wood with creosote andto withdraw the super-- fluous creosote oil inthe pores of the wood,

It is also evident that while I have thereby resulting in a decidedsaving in 13 a given is subjected to an air pressure of about onehundred pounds pressure per square inch and made to fill all the cellsof the wood with air. The retort or cylinder is then filled with thecreosote oil without permite ting the air in the wood to escape, and theoil is then forced through the air into the wood. The retort or cylinderis then drained and the operation of the condenser started. The vacuumproduced by said condenser causes the air in the wood to expand andforce out the superfluous and a large portion of the creosote oil in thewood, and the condenser which through its novel construction andarrangement acts as an air pump of large capacity as heretoforedescribed, thereby roducing a quicker and higher vacuum as iiereinexplained, to more effectually withdraw the creosote oil from the wood.

It will also be manifest that in the use of the apparatus where steam isused to dry the wood and the drying is accomplished principally by theheat put into the wood, if the boiling point or temperature isimmediately'reduced by the high and quick vacuum of the present improvedcondenser and hence the quicker the vacuum is applied, the less heat islost throu h radiation and the more heat is available or evaporation,and the higher the vacuum applied the lower the boiling point andgreater the heat range for evaporatin purposes is accomplished by ourimprove condens--- er over that of the prior and ordinary forms ofcondensers which have little or no air pump capacity.

It will also be seen that recording thermometers could be substitutedfor .the,type

of thermometers shown and described. for

determining and indicating the temperatures of the cold circulatingwater and the condensate liquid, in order to secure a graphic andpermanent record of the operations of the apparatus during the progressand cycle of each treatment or charge of the cylinder or retort.

It is also evident that many slight changes in the relative arrangementof parts shown and described might be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit and scope of ourinvention. Hence we would have it understoodthat we do not wish to confine ourselves to the exact construction shownand described except as defined by the appended claims.

Having fully described our invention,

what we claim as new and desire to secure by- Letters Patent, is

1. In an impregnating system'for wood or similar porous material, meansfor creating a high and quick vacuum in the impregnating retort,comprising a unitary barometric condenser and separator connected withsaid retort, means for creating a vacuum in the condenser and separator,

means for spraying condensing liquid through the condenser and separatorwhile under vacuum, and means for conducting off the condensate whileunder vacuum.

2. In an impregnating system for wood or I similar porous material,means for creating a high and quick vacuum in the impregnat ing retortcomprising a unitary barometric condenser and separator connected withsaid retort, said condenser and separator unit 80. comprising superposedcondenser and separator sections vertically arranged to afford aninterupted and undiverted passage from one of said sections through theother.

3. In an impregnating systemfor wood or similar porous material, meansfor creating a high and quick vacuum in the impregnating retort, saidmeans comprising a unita condenser and separator vertically arrang avacuum pump connected with said condenser and separator at its otherend, an inlet from the retort in the lower part, a tail pipe leadingfrom the lower extremity of the condenser for conducting away thecondensate, and a chamber in the upper end of the condenser opening intothe condenser with means for supplying circulating condensing fluid tosaid chamber.

4. In an impregnating'system for wood or similar porous material, meansfor creating a high and quick vacuum in'the impregnating retortcomprising a unitaryv condenser. and separator constructed of aplurality of superposed sections, combined into aunitary whole, acondensing drum in the lower secm5 tion in spaced relation to thesection walls, the section wall having an opening for the admission offluid to be condensed and sepa rated.

..5.- In an impregnating system for wood or similar porous materialhaving an impregnating retort, means for creating a high and quickvacuum in the impregnating retort comprising a. unitary barometriccondenser and separator communicating with said reaw tort, means forcreating a vacuum in the condenser and separator, means for sprayingcondensing liquid .through the condenser and separator, means forconducting oifthe condensate, and means for simultaquickly compartingthe tem-- neously and perature of said condensing llquid and condensateto determine the progress and com; a

pletion of the evacuation in said retort.

6. In an impregnating system for wood or similar porous material havmganimpregnating retort, means for creating a high and quick vacuum-in theimpregnating retort, comprising a, unitary barometric condenser andseparator connected to said retort, a

' quick vacuum in said condensing drum fluid ejector for withdrawing airand non condensable gases collected within said baro metric condenserand separator, means for spraying condensing liquid through thecondenser, and means for conducting the condensate and condensing liquidfrom withm said barometric condenser and separator.

7. In an impregnating system for wood or similar porous'material havingan mpregnating retort, means for creating a high and the impregnatingretort, comprising a unitary barometric condenser and separatorconnected to said retort, a plurality of fluid ejectors arranged insemes for withdrawing air and non-condensable gases collected withinsaid barometric condenser and separator, means forspraymg condensingliquid through the condenser, and means for conducting the condensateand condens: ing liquid from within said barometric condenserandseparator. I

8. A unitary condenser and separator for creating a high vacuum in animpregnatingsystem for wood or similar porous material comprising aplurality of supersed sections combined into a unitary ,whole, a drum inthe lower section in spaced relation to the section walls, the lower section having sin-opening for the admission of fluid'and vapors to becondensed and separated and an outlet for the condensate, an upperseparator and cooler section provided with condensing fluid inletand anair and non-condensable gas outlet, a condensing drum within and spacedfrom the inner wall of said upper section, the upper open end of beingin communication with said condensing fluid inlet and provided with aforaminous condensing fluid spray plate and its upper wall sectionhaving onings for the escapeof theair and non-condensable gases.collected within said condensing drum to the air and non-condensable gasoutlet.

9. A-unitary condenser and separator for creating a high vacuum in animpregnating system for wood or similar porous material comprising aplurality of superposed sec- -whole, relation to the section walls,

mamas" tions combined into a unitary whole, a drain in the lower sectionin spaced relation to the section walls, the lower section having anopening for the admission of fluid and vapors to be condensed andseparated and an outlet for the condensate," an upper separatorandcooler section provided wtih condensing fluid inlet and an air andn0n-condensable gas outlet, a condensing drum within and spaced from theinner wall of said upper section, the upper open end of said condens ingdrum being provided with a foraminous condensing fluid spray plate andits upper wall'section having openings for the escape of the air andnon-condensable gases collected within said condensing drum to the airand non-condensable' gas outlet, and ahood sup rted from the upper endof the condensing drum and interposed between the openings in saidcondensing drum and inner wall of said upper section.

,10. A unita condenser and separator for creating a igh vacuum in animpregnatin system for wood or similar porous material comprising aplurality of superposed sections combined into a unitary a drum in thelower section in spaced the lower sec- -tionhaving an opening for theadmission of fluid and vapors to be condensed and separated and anoutlet for the condensate, an upper separator and cooler sectionprovided with a condensing fluid inlet and an air and non-condensablegas outlet, .a condensing drum within and spaced from the inner wall ofsaid upper section, the upper open end of said condensing drum beingprovided with a forarmnous condensing fluid spray plate and its upperwall section having openings for the escapeof the air andnon-condensable gases collected within said condensing drum to theair'and non-condensable gas outlet.

In testimony whereof, we afix our signatures.

ANDREW M. LOOKETT. BERND S; NELSQN.

